Clay Farm
Note: This map is only my rough estimate of where this site may have been. Accurate enough for a position within the UK, but hardly satisfactory. If anybody can kindly assist, the advice will be very welcome.
CLAY FARM: Temporary Landing Grounds
NOTES: It appears that two fields on CLAY FARM, (situated S of RAF WREXHAM and near Gourton), were used by No.5 FTS at SEALAND from 1928 for a couple if not a few years.
The story is that a Lynx- Avro, (Whatever that is? Probably if not certainly a Avro 504 with a Lynx engine?), would land fairly early in the morning and taxi “into a corner, out of the way”. Canvas markers were then laid out and a telescopic pole erected with a pennant to act as a windsock. It seems this ‘crew’, (of two?), then supervised the various exercises involved such as touch & goes, collecting messages drill, ground target practice etc. It seems a gap in the hedge still bears testimony to the roughly E/W 533 grass airstrip.
The hours of operation appear to have been from about 0800 to 1300 on a regular basis, these times being the RAF “office” hours for the the peacetime RAF in those days. At close of play they packed up and went home.
ANOTHER ERA
With the opening of BARTON (LANCASHIRE), BRETTON (FLINTSHIRE), HOOTON PARK (CHESHIRE) and SPEKE (LANCASHIRE), plus the emergence of more complicated, faster and heavier aircraft to replace the venerable Avro 504s for training,the practise of negotiating with a farmer to use a field or two lapsed. It appears that some similar fifteen farmers fields or farms have been identified in this area as being used for training purposes and I will certainly respect those trainee pilots for being able to find them.
But, if this is the case, why were the RAF renowned for being so useless at navigation as often as not? Was it simply because as ofyen as not these pilots graduated up to multi- crew aircraft and their duties were relegated to being ‘steering wheel attendants’ and navigation was the duty of the navigator? Most of whom in the 1920s and '30s, or so it seems, couldn’t navigate their way out of a paper bag held over their head.
We'd love to hear from you, so please scroll down to leave a comment!
Leave a comment ...
Copyright (c) UK Airfield Guide
